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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01/05/1987 Meeting - . '. M I NUT E S Eugene City Council Eugene Community Conference Center January 5, 1987 7:15 p.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Richard Hansen, Debra Ehrman, Emily Schue, Cynthia Wooten, Freeman Holmer, Ruth Bascom, Roger Rutan, Jeff Mill er. COUNCILOR-ELECT PRESENT: Robert Bennett The adjourned meeting of December 17, 1986, of the City Council of Eugene, Oregon, was called to order by His Honor Mayor Brian B. Obie. I. PRESENTATION OF PLAQUE TO PRESIDENT HANSEN Mayor Obie discussed the excellent work Mr. Hansen did as a City Councilor for the last four years and as president of the council in 1986. In recognition of his service to the community, Mayor Obie presented a plaque to Mr. Hansen. II. INTRODUCTION OF EUGENE CITY COUNCIL Mr. Hansen introduced the councilors and discussed their responsibilities and accomplishments. Each councilor responded briefly to the introduction. III. OATHS OF OFFICE City Recorder Gary Long administered the oath of office to Ms. Schue, Mr. Holmer, Mr. Miller, and Mr. Bennett. IV. STATE OF THE CITY ADDRESS Mayor Obie presented the State of the City Address (Attachment I). Mayor Obie adjourned the meeting at 8:40 p.m. R~.S~~,CC>f: . l'~ //~ - ..~ ~ Mic ea1 Gleason .. - --- City Manager MINUTES--Eugene City Council January 5, 1987 Page 1 e State of the City Address Mayor Brian B. Obie January 5, 1987 This is the third time in two years I have stood before you on the first Monday in January. Today represents the halfway mark for me and four city councilors in this term of office; and, as you have seen, it also represents the beginning of a new four-year commitment for three veteran councilors and a new addition in Rob Bennett. This council in particular and in many ways is much like a second family. They know hard work. They know success. They know defeat. They know achievement. They disagree. They occasionally split. They always care. They are held together with one thread. And that is to act in the best interest of this community. I am sure you join with me in thanking them for the hours, days, months --the life, if you will--that they give Eugene. On behalf of this community, I would like to thank each of them. Collectively they represent what is good about Eugene. They also represent the breadth of its fabric. But as this is the State of the City Address, let me start by telling you that the state of the council is excellent. e You will fi nd in Chapter 3 of our Ci ty Charter that it is the Mayor IS responsibility to stand before you one time each year and report on the conditions of the city, and make recommendations for its peace, health, improvement, and prosperity of this community. As I tried to find the proper yardstick for measuring the condition, I can only tell you that by virtually any yardstick, it appears that we are better off today than we were a year ago--and substantially better than we were two years ago. We suffered greatly, in years past, from the ravages of a national recession and a hard-pressed local economy. Two years ago, we accepted the responsibility of taking charge of our own destiny, and set forth to create our own opportunities and our own success through the Eugene Agenda and a commitment to hard work. In 1986, the results of our efforts began to show. Once again, confidence in our community is growing. A new economic assessment by the Fantus Company showed a greatly improved business environment. And you can take great pride in the fact that "community cooperation" was among the factors that showed significant improvement from four years ago. Eugene saw a rebound of new investment during the last two years. Construction activity climbed by 50 percent. The year ahead promises to be an exciting one! Plans for over $127 million in construction activity have already been announced. That exceeds the construction value of the last two years combined, and, in fact, is a record for this community. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council January 5, 1987 Page 2 e e e For further evidence of progress, I would like to review with you that agenda that I laid out two years ago but which was, in fact, laid out by the City Council prior to that. It is not hard to remember that the Eugene Airport was the first item on that agenda. The expansion of Mahlon Sweet Airport is at our doorstep. Over $11 mi 11 i on--nearly two-thi rds of the fundi ng for thi s project--has been identified. We can no longer say we need a broad base of financial support. We have one! The Federal government along with the State government and Lane County have already stepped forward. The City Council has been fully aware that the people of this community are still recovering from the economic slump. Therefore, they have made the recommendation and have asked you to live within our means, to approve bonds that will be paid for out of existing revenue streams, not the creation of new taxes. Airport expansion has never been more critical to this community. We have succeeded in attracting new airlines and are experiencing record passenger ridership and air cargo levels at the airport. The council has done its work. The question for this community on March 31 and the question to you is: Will you do yours? That is part of the challenge I lay before you in 1987. We have brought that project, a group of people, as far as we can without your help. Now it is up to you to take the last step. The second item on the agenda, 11m sure you'll remember, was the Riverfront Research Park. Our progress will soon be self-evident in bricks and mortar. The cornerstone is now being laid with construction of the University of Oregon's new $44 million science complex. Our vision is taking shape. Working in partnership with the University of Oregon and our private partner, the Carley Capital Group, we are making steady progress. The project this coming year will take an important step with the development of a master site plan and we hope some very key infrastructure development. Community involvement in this process is essential. I ask each of you here to give your time and, particularly, your close attention in 1987 to this project. We have a tremendous opportunity--one that this community has never before experienced, to forge a new economy--not just for Eugene, but for the entire southern Willamette Valley. We have the potential to create both new jobs and to develop new industries. And more important, we have the potential to once and for a 11 prove that economi c deve 1 opment and our concern for our environment are compatible. The third agenda item we spoke of two years ago was downtown. We set ourselves a goal that downtown should be a proud reflection of each of us. That it be an exciting place to be, to shop, to work, to play--a regional center for commerce and culture. I am pleased to report to you tonight that in 1986 we saw 18 new businesses locate downtown. Vacant office and retail space is fi 11 i ng--and our downtown vacancy rate has been cut in half. Changes to Willamette Street have improved both traffic circulation and visibility and early indications from Willamette Street businesses between 10th and 13th are very positive. Improvements to the Broadway section of the mall will begin next month. Two years ago we adopted the Downtown Plan to provide a broad framework for the revitalization. Today, there is a new hope and optimism. Our renewed spirit, energy, and interest in downtown will carry forth into 1987 and ensure our success. MINUTES--Eugene City Council January 5, 1987 Page 3 - The fourth agenda item I spoke of two years ago was our crying need to improve our transportation system. The expressway amendment had been on our books for nearly 20 years and, in that time, had gone unchanged and unchallenged. During that same period of time, no significant State projects were carried on in this community. And in two short years, there has been tremendous progress. The voters, first, approved the widening and redevelopment of 6th and 7th avenues, and then just last November, approved the extension of the West Eugene Parkway. When the final segments of 6th Avenue are done this coming year, our primary east-west corridor will be transformed from potholes to proud avenues. And the parkway in coming years will relieve the congestion on West 11th Avenue and serve our primary industrial areas to the west. Eugeneans. support for transportation has, indeed, been noticed in Salem. We are seeing improved interest and new commitment not only for Eugene, but for Springfield and the entire region of the State Transportation Department. Without a doubt, the citizens of this community should take confidence and pride in the fact that they made the difference. It could not have been done without them and they have made the community better than it was before. e The final agenda item I spoke to you two years ago about was concern about the visual aspects of our entryways. We called it entryway beautification. Project City Pride, our community-wide beautification drive, took off last year fueled by eager businesses and a supportive community. You probably noticed that--in some very key spots--the community has begun to blossom. I am sure you have only seen the beginning of that as also this past year the Planning Commission developed, approved, and forwarded to the council--which approved it--the Entryway Beautification Program. I am sure you will see in the years ahead our entryways-- source of concern--again a source of pride. You see, we have made some progress. Vital, important progress on each front. Some very vital support cases. These agenda items have been our top priorities. But, I would like you not to forget, that my responsibility and the reponsibility of this council is not just one of creating a vision for the future. The work of the city goes on, day in and day out, and I believe many of you might be surprised by the magnitude if you realize that every day our 911 number receives nearly 1,000 phone calls. In a given day, over 10,000 library books are checked in and out of the library, over 50 miles of streets are swept, 1-1/2 tons of air mail and cargo go through Mahlon Sweet Airport, police officers respond to 125 calls, 13 people are carried to the hospital by our paramedics, 1,200 people use our community centers and swimming pools, and 125 cases are filed in Municipal Court. Now the list goes on. It is not a terribly exciting one but it is fundamental. Fundamental to the kind of community we are. I would like to pause for a minute right here because I think we, as a community, are blessed with a City management and a City staff that very few communities ever achieve. Mike Gleason, I would like to compliment you--and Dave Whitlow, Assistant City Manager, and the department heads. The people we rely on--not we as a council--but we as a community day in and day out to get the job done. That e MINUTES--Eugene City Council January 5, 1987 Page 4 e e e job that just has to go on. It is one of those deals--school doesn't keep-- work must go on. It is fundamental, but I would like to share with you that it is my observation that it is fundamentally well done. Each of us can take pride in our progress. Pride in our ability to serve and in our city's ability to serve. It takes many people in addition to a Mayor and City Council to move a community forward. I would like to take this opportunity to recognize some of those people who do so. We have created a special award to recognize outstanding contribution. It is only appropriate that the first people to receive that award are those that two years ago had nothing but a dream, and two months ago broke ground on that dream. Now I could give these awards to our governor. I could give them to two very fine senators. I could give them to a very tremendous legislative delegation. I could give them for some lobbying work by City lobbyists that went well beyond the call. But you know, before anybody can go to work, before the governor, the senators, myself, this council--somebody needs the concept. Somebody needs the idea. Somebody needs the dream. Well, the people that had the dream were Chancellor of Higher Education Bud Davis, Paul Olum, president of the University of Oregon, and John Moseley, vice president of the University of Oregon. Their dream was the $44 million science complex we broke ground on in the Riverfront Research Park. I know Paul is out of town on the East Coast but I know the Chancellor and Vice President Moseley are in the audience and I would like to ask them to come forward and accept, if they will, this recognition from this community. I have spent a lot of time on the highway between here and Salem with Chancellor Davis. Now, the next individual would have to be described as Eugene's Mr. Tenacity himself, Mr. John Moseley. Well, we have spoken of our progress in the area of transportation. And I hope thi s communi ty wi 11 not soon forget how 6th and 7th looked before thi s community took charge. And, while we truly need to thank many people for their contribution because none of these things happen by themselves, it is my hope that in recognizing one person, we indeed recognize many. We do have an individual who played a significant role in moving us forward. In order to break the logjam on transportation projects in this community required two elections that we spoke of. One, of course, for 6th and 7th avenues and the other for the West Eugene Parkway. Those two elections were milestones in our 125-year history of this city. Those two elections saw much the same people providing leadership. One of those people who was out front providing leadership in both elections was Jim Saul. Jim, would you come forward and accept this token of our appreciation. If there is any question of the contribution Jim and many others have made--or the contribution you made yourself because I see many people in the audience who played a key role in that--or a question of whether we have made progress, I invite you to step outside of either side of this facility and look at the street. MINUTES--Eugene City Council January 5, 1987 Page 5 e One of the things these wins give us--and why we need to take a minute to recognize them--is that they are wins of the community and they give us confidence to go on to the next challenge--to go the next step to do what needs to be done to improve this place we call home. One of the other agenda items that we have noted was downtown. We have talked about the 18 businesses that chose to make downtown their home this past year. But we did not mention the two major retailers--Kaufman's and Eugene Athletic--that announced expansions. Nor did we mention that Aster Publishing Company bought the Park Willamette Building and will move 70 employees downtown in the next few months. Or the corner of 10th and Willamette--a former problem spot--that is being transformed when the renovation of the Schaeffer Building and McDonald Theatre Building are completed. Ten new businesses will join the Downtown Athletic Club at that location. Again, many people deserve recognition. But during the past two years in bringing us to this point, there is one individual that has been in the Mayor1s office regarding downtown many more times than any other. There is one individual that believed, perhaps long before many of us. I would like, at this time, to recognize the individual that has been Chair of the Downtown Commission for the first two years of my term of office--Mike Schwartz. Mike, please come forward. e There are many others, obviously, that we could give awards to tonight. The fact is, the council creates the policy but individuals create the achievements. As Mike said, we have a great deal of work to do. And, hopefully, we will be able to recognize those people in the future. They are making a significant contribution. We want to recognize each of you and thank you for believing in us, for knowing it could be done, and again there are many people we want to thank. Perhaps they are not here and we will get the opportunity to do it. But despite the progress that we have recognized, despite the wins we have, our progress in economic recovery is, indeed, fragile. It requires our continued attention. Over the years, I have had the opportunity to study successful people. At the same time, I have had the opportunity to study successful and winning communities. I find that they have one thing in common. That is to be able to set objectives, focus on those objectives, set those goals, and not be distracted until they are achieved. They succeed because they do not allow themselves to be slowed by time. They succeed because they do not allow themselves to be distracted by doubt. They succeed because they do not become disillusioned by occasional defeat. Perhaps the best example of staying with it, of continuing on the course, is the birth of our nation. As you know, the colonists declared their independence from England in 1776. But the U.S. Constitution--which sets forth the basic principles of this nation--was not signed until 11 years later. It was, in fact, a second attempt. Their first effort at organizing a new nation under the Articles of Confederation had failed. But their vision and their determination and their belief remained steadfast and 11 years later our constitution was indeed signed. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council January 5, 1987 Page 6 e e e This year marks the 200th anniversary of that success and it is my hope that it marks a significant anniversary for this community. An anniversary, not only where a community decided at some point that it could take its destiny in its hands, but maintain that commitment, that steadfast resolve to achieve those things that are worthwhile. So, I do not propose to you for 1987 any new initiatives. In 1987, it is my belief that it is most important that we stick with our agenda. I ask you, as individuals, to bring together your energy as one community, and to focus our collective force on our small, but important, list of priorities. Although it is tempting to take on new projects, it is my feeling that it would only scatter our efforts and minimize our results. Eugene's economic recovery is not just in the hands of a few elected officials nor is it in the hands of the Chamber of Commerce, or a group of "movers and shakers.1I If we are to experience prosperity and sound economic development, it will only happen if we all believe and we all participate. Over the past two years, through our own iniative, through our partnership as a community, and through our belief in ourselves, we have, indeed, created our success. Determination and a positive attitude will be the key to prosperity in 1987. Tonight, I call upon you who have done so much thus far, to fire the spirits of this community in the year ahead. I ask you to recognize our accomplishments, and take confidence in the progress we have made. But, above all, acknowledge we have a great deal of work to do and believe in our ability to create our own future and continue with the renaissance of this community. MINUTES--Eugene City Council January 5, 1987 Page 7